Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are moving beyond traditional workplace tools to embrace emerging technologies and unified platforms to achieve their strategic objectives.
Data drawn from our biennial Future of Operations study shows projected investment in the Productivity operational domain climbing by 12% on the previous 2023 data release.
For our partners, understanding these trends provides critical insight into how best to align offerings and capture new opportunities in the modern workplace.
In the sixth of our Future of Operations Insight series, we will dive into the key insights from the study that relate to how SMB decision makers will drive their ambition for revenue growth, competitiveness and above all – enhanced experiences – through to success.
Between 2023 and 2025, small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) in Asia Pacific have put their essential productivity foundations in place.
Data from the Future of Operations study shows a 49% penetration rate for conferencing tools, digital workflows, and workstream collaboration platforms amongst participants.
There is continued room for growth in these categories, yet the real opportunity is in what comes next.
To understand what will drive technology adoption in the Productivity domain, let’s look at what SMBs in the region ranked as their most critical business objectives*:
80% improve customer experience
73% improve employee skills and capabilities
72% improve the ability to innovate
67% improve employee and business partners’ experience
Achieving these goals ensures SMBs will achieve the overall #2 objective of revenue growth (77%).
*Source: The Future of Operations, Advancing AI=Driven Innovation and Cloud Agility for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Crayon, March 2025.
72% enabling tech driven innovation and experimentation
70+% improving IT capabilities to enhance customer and employee experience
69% enhancing cross-organisation collaboration
65% aligning investment initiatives with strategic business objectives
64% implementing AI enabled/Gen AI tools
This translates into solution adoption intent for:
SMBs are rapidly increasing their investments in AI.
Currently, 24% invest between $200,000-$300,000 USD, and 22% allocate between $50,000-$100,000 USD in AI annually.
Moreover, a striking 48% of SMBs plan an 11%-20% increase in AI spend by 2027.
This significant investment shift underscores that AI is more than an add-on. It will be the foundation of digital workplace productivity, collaboration, and workflow automation.
Nearly half of all SMBs surveyed are already leveraging or planning to implement AI-driven virtual assistants, bots, and natural language processing (NLP).
SMBs require comprehensive support to successfully embed AI into their productivity frameworks.
Asked about the main drivers for third-party engagement of IT expertise in the Productivity domain, the top three responses from SMBs were:
Partners have an opportunity to line up GTM positions with the strategic drivers of solution adoption and service demand; enhanced employee skills and experience, elevated customer interactions and innovation.
Many SMBs still utilise numerous niche point solutions, leading to inefficiencies and inflated costs. Partners can offer substantial value by helping SMB customers rationalise software portfolios. Fragmented third-party tools can be replaced with integrated Microsoft 365 solutions that combine unified communications, automation, analytics, and workflow management.
Show customers how tapping into the broader M365 suite of SharePoint, OneDrive, Viva Insights, Viva Learning, Loop, Power Automate, Planner, and Copilot could consolidate spend and save money to be reinvested into new initiatives.
Combine conferencing solutions (Teams), UCaaS, AI-enabled digital workflow (Power Automate, Copilot), and analytics-driven workplace insights (Microsoft Viva) into integrated productivity packages.
Such holistic offerings respond directly to SMB demands for unified solutions that enhance employee experience and enable cross-organisational collaboration.
Partners can also consider embedding AI and analytics capabilities directly within the productivity toolsets.
Tailored business application solutions (such as Power Automate, Dynamics 365 integration, and Teams-based workflows) lend themselves to deep customer engagement and ongoing services.
Many SMBs now recognise that cloud strategy directly impacts workforce productivity, but challenges are emerging on how to align cloud and AI. Provide strategic advisory and implementation roadmaps that align their cloud environments with their AI ambition in a modern workplace context.
Given the rapid SMB adoption of productivity and collaboration solutions, managed cloud services are a prime opportunity. SMBs need robust support to handle integrations, governance, security, and performance optimisation across their digital productivity landscape. Managed cloud services can provide the foundation of reliable, resilient workplace productivity.
Package post-sales engagement and technical training for IT teams to ensure anticipated benefits of UCaaS, virtual desktop and endpoint management solutions are producing the right outcomes.
Structured training offerings designed to lift business user capabilities around Microsoft’s comprehensive productivity suite are high value and repeatable. Developing an end-to-end approach will reinforce your ability to bridge strategic objectives to outcome-oriented executions. Importantly, you’ll move from solution delivery to value creation, with deeper customer engagements over a longer period of time.
Sales and Marketing
Business leaders don't live in the tools. They live in the outcomes. The metrics they care about most are not always limited to compliance and risk. So how do you connect data protection to the big-ticket objectives, when they're less obvious? Our in-house pre-sales expert, Michael Brooke explains.
Guides and eBooks
As SMBs mature in the Data Protection lifecycle, they need help to optimise spend, reduce the compliance burden and ensure results align to business objectives. The third installment of our Data Protection Playbook series provides practical guidance for partners on how to address emerging pressure and connect ongoing investment to measurable business value.
Training
Copilot Agents: what are they and how do they differ from AI assistants and chatbots? Our in-house Copilot expert Ksenia Turner explains the use cases and service opportunities for partners.
Blogs
Fragmented data protection systems and processes create compliance proof-gaps for SMB customers. Scott Hagenus, Director, Cybersecurity here at Crayon explains.
Sales and Marketing
Ever wonder why a pitch has some IT Managers leaning forward, while others glaze over? Michael Brooke, Cybersecurity Pre-Sales Lead offers some insight on how to tune your approach to chime with different technical mindsets.
Guides and eBooks
How can partners help their SMB customers to move from silos of security and continuity to a more cohesive, measurable and insurable data protection framework? The second edition in our Data Protection Playbook series maps out their journey, and yours.
Vendor Announcements
Copilot for Business has landed at Microsoft Ignite 2025, levelling the GenAI playing field for SMB customers. Learn all about it from our man on the ground, Andreas Bergman.
Press Release
Press Release
Blogs
As cybersecurity and continuity converge in platforms and in practice, partners need new playbooks to address modern Data Protection standards. Our in-house cybersecurity pre-sales lead, Michael Brooke explains why.
Guides and eBooks
What triggers an SMB customer to begin exploring their need for better Data Protection? The first of our four Data Protection Playbooks for partners breaks down how to position and win in the Pre-Adoption and Exploration stage.
Insights
Data Protection priorities are shifting for SMBs. Ramp up your ability to respond with curated insights, articles and resources to help you guide every customer conversation with confidence.
Partner Spotlight
In this Partner Spotlight, Acceltech Managing Director Ivy Tarrobago shares how Crayon’s responsive support enhances client outcomes and business growth.
Whitepapers
Data Protection is a must for all SMBs but how can partners align solution investment with critical business objectives? Our latest paper shows you how.
Press Release
Crayon has been recognised with a huge double win at the CRN Channel Asia awards ceremony.
Insights
All the latest insights, articles and resources on M365 Copilot, curated into one place.
Insights
SMB customers are storing greater volumes of sensitive data in more places than ever. Secure backup and recovery practices are essential to how they protect it.
Partner Spotlight
Bigfish Technology saved AU$20,000 on its annual Microsoft licensing after one call with Crayon and has since built a strong partnership that enabled Bigfish to get access to Crayon’s expertise and vendor ecosystem.
Insights
Insider risk is a subtle and continuous challenge for SMB customers. Turn it into a manageable and quantifiable aspect of their Data Protection strategy.
Blogs
From rethinking backup to governance frameworks and behavioural analytics, what's involved in building a complete Data Protection strategy for SMB customers?
Insights
We explore the evolution of Microsoft's channel strategy over the past ten years, and what can be learned by viewing it through a Value Cycle lens.
Guides and eBooks
The Microsoft Fabric Partner Guide curates our recent articles, videos and resources to accelerate Crayon partner learning.
Insights
Rhonda Robati, Executive Vice President of Crayon APAC assesses the factors driving Microsoft's channel strategy and the evolution needed to be a Partner of the Future.
Blogs
Warren Nolan believes Microsoft has invited partners to join them on a new journey to value, and the role of Cloud Distribution providers has never been more critical.
Blogs
With Windows 10 nearing end-of-life, it's time for partners to prepare customers for the transition to Windows 11.
Insights
SMBs across the APAC are not just increasing their technology investments—they are making strategic, forward-thinking moves to position themselves for long-term growth.
Insights
Small to medium-sized businesses in the APAC region are gearing up tech investments to drive outcomes for customer experience, revenue, business adaptability and innovation. How will SMBs leverage emerging technologies to achieve their strategic objectives?
Insights
What are the most critical business objectives and solution adoption priorities for SMBs in our region? Download the latest Forrester study to find out!
Sales and Marketing
Practical tips for crafting and activating a compelling Copilot GTM proposition.
Technical
Smart ways to control costs and improve data security for Copilot deployments.
Training
M365 Copilot implementations for customers should be viewed through a risk tolerance lens. Explore risk tolerance profiles and what they mean.
Guides and eBooks
What are the things that make employee’s more productive?
